Contact Centre Recruitment Surges to Record Levels
28 June 2006
- Positive outlook forecast for next six months
- Banking, finance and insurance sectors driving growth
- Outsourced contact centres growing strongly
- Candidate shortage becoming critical
Recruitment in the contact centre industry has surged in the early part of 2006, reaching its highest level in three years, according to the latest national industry survey.
The Australian Contact Centre Recruitment Index, which measures hiring activity, reached 9.3% in March, it’s highest level since the survey commenced in 2003, and up from 7.5% in September 2005.
The survey is conducted by research firm callcentres.net, in conjunction with recruitment firm Kelly Services, and provides a six monthly snapshot of recruitment trends across the industry. The index measures the share of newly recruited staff as a percentage of total industry-wide employment.
“The contact centre industry is experiencing a period of frenetic activity, said Steve Shepherd, Director Kelly Services.
“With booming demand for contact centre staff combined with a candidate shortage, organisations are having to go to extra lengths to attract and retain skilled people”.
The survey reveals two sectors at the centre of the current wave of recruitment.
The banking, finance and insurance sector recruited 22% of staff in the last six months, while the outsourced contact centre sector recorded 25%. They were followed by IT, telecommunications and media (14%); business services (14%), travel, hospitality and entertainment (9%); government, utilities, education and health (6%); and manufacturing, agriculture, transport and freight (2%).
As in previous surveys, more than half (55%) of recruitment was to replace existing positions, although this has been declining since September 2005, with a corresponding increase in the number of new positions.
Customer service is the primary skill sought by call centre managers (in 81% of cases), while verbal communication skills are also important (66%). Skills in computer/technology (45%) and sales/marketing (33%) are secondary requirements, as is industry knowledge (28%).
Interestingly, previous contact centre experience was considered essential in only 14% of cases.
Almost two thirds (62%) of respondents are recruiting their contact centre staff in-house. And because of a shortage of skilled candidates, nearly half of all contact centres say they are experiencing difficulties in sourcing candidates.
Of those contact centres that recruited new agents in March, almost 3 in 10 reported recruits refusing jobs they had been offered. On average, 6% of those who were offered a job declined it.
Annual salaries for entry level agents decreased marginally in the survey to an average $34,000, while salaries for experienced agents was 1.5% higher at almost $40,000 a year.
In March, the average turnover of permanent full time agents was 13.3%, up marginally from 12.5% in the previous six months.
“It is becoming increasingly important t for employers to look at sophisticated ways of attracting and holding onto the best talent,” Steve Shepherd said.
“Many are offering flexible working arrangements, reward and recognition programs, and career planning practices to help slow turnover and hold on to the most valuable staff.
“It is likely that we will see more pressure on salaries as the demand grows. With some areas of the economy slowing and competition getting tougher, more pressure will be placed on contact centers to meet growth targets and sell new services.
“This requires experienced and highly skilled people who are in dwindling supply. The very best in the industry are in a great bargaining position,” he said.
There appears a positive outlook for recruitment with almost half of contact centres forecasting their headcount to increase by an average 19 agents.
The index is the result of survey work undertaken with over 100 contact centres and 8,000 agents. For more information, go to www.ccmanager.com.au to request a copy or to access full details.
Media Contact:
Bob Bowden, Foresight Communications
Phone: 02 9241 2811 or 0412 753 298
Email: bbowden@bowmac.com.au